Grimsby Town went toe-to-toe with Derby County, but ultimately went out of the Carabao Cup as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Blundell Park.

Two weeks after their first attempt was abandoned, Matej Vydra’s second half penalty proved to be enough for the Rams as they secured a second round meeting with Barnsley.

Ahead of kick-off, Russell Slade made three changes to the side that started the defeat at Stevenage.

Ben Davies returned to face his former side in place of Zak Mills, while James Berrett returned from suspension to replace Luke Summerfield, and Sam Jones sat out the first of his three-game ban as Tom Bolarinwa came into the team.

Action from the Carabao Cup tie between Grimsby Town and Derby County

With Jones absent, Sam Kelly occupied the advanced role in support of JJ Hooper while Bolarinwa slotted in on the left, and during the early stages it worked out well as the Mariners moved the ball about well in the Derby half.

But were was still a threat from the potent Derby frontline, and an attempted Chris Martin nod down to Matej Vydra served as a warning to Town’s defence after quarter of an hour.

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The hosts had their own threat though with Siriki Dembele, and the Nike Academy product almost produced another moment of magic as he skipped past a number of challenges on the edge of the penalty area before playing Hooper through.

But from a tight angle, the former Port Vale man couldn’t quite test Jonathan Mitchell as he shot straight into the Rams keeper’s arms.

The visitors were beginning to find their feet and some neat build-up on the edge of the area presented Martin with a chance, but the former Norwich man could only fire over.

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As first half drew to a close, Paul Dixon ventured forward and tried his luck from distance as he moved onto his right foot, but the effort flew well over.

Bolarinwa looked like he might have been about to give Town a late opener in the half as he eased past Chris Baird, but the winger couldn’t quite find the corner of the net as Mitchell gathered comfortably.

Town were given an early opportunity after the break when Bolarinwa was hauled down by Alex Pearce, but Nathan Clarke could only head over from the resulting free-kick.

Action from the Carabao Cup tie between Grimsby Town and Derby County

After remaining solid for so long against their Championship counterparts though, the Mariners presented Derby with a golden opportunity to take the lead when Clarke tugged Vydra back in the penalty area, and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Vydra stepped up himself and planted the ball to James McKeown’s right, with the Town stopper unable to get enough on the strike to keep it out as Derby took the lead.

The visitors were beginning to dominate, and were handed another chance when Dixon was forced into a last-ditch foul, resulting in the defender going into the referee’s book while Davies also received a yellow for kicking the ball away.

From the resulting free-kick, Martin just curled the ball past McKeown’s left-hand post.

Town’s job was made even harder when Davies picked up a second yellow for a foul, and became the fourth player to be sent off in four matches.

Despite being down a man though, the Mariners managed to shore things up once again at the back, but struggled to carry any threat going forward.

That was until the final ten minutes when, with nothing to lose, Town piled men forward for a corner and saw a header cleared off the line.

Despite their best attempts though – including a repeat of last year’s dramatic McKeown header - they couldn’t breach the Rams’ defence, and it was Gary Rowett’s men who progressed through to the second round.